


2019 00Q Last Drabble Writer Standing

by Celyan



Series: 00Q Last Drabble Writer Standing [1]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: 00Q Last Drabble Writer Standing, Drabbles, Fluff and Humor, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2019-11-24 05:26:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18162008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celyan/pseuds/Celyan
Summary: Four drabbles of differing length, written for the 2019 00Q Last Drabble Writer Standing challenge.





	1. Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks for SandyWormbook for the beta again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bond waits for an answer from Q.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first drabble for the challenge. It was surprisingly hard to stay within the word limit, here.

Q isn’t fond of questioning, hesitation, or second-guessing. He isn’t keen on insecurity either.

Yet, here he is, staring at his office window, the opaque surface reflecting his mirror twin instead of showing the man he knows to be standing outside, patiently waiting.

For him. 

For them? Q isn’t at all sure, anymore. All he knows is Bond, that infuriatingly frustrating man he still loves, has returned, has asked him for… what, exactly? 

Q never gave him an answer. 

But deep inside, he knows that he is waiting, just around the corner. 

Q supposes he never really stood a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: just around the corner  
> Word count: 100


	2. Never a Good Sign

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a night out, Bond and Q have a little talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this week’s prompt. I ended up writing five drabbles, and this was the one that got chosen as the official one. 
> 
> And it all began with Q’s second line. ;)

“‘Just one shot’, you said,” Q glares at Bond. “‘It won’t have any effect on you’, my arse.” 

“That one didn’t, no,” Bond says mildly. “It was the subsequent six that did, I believe.” 

Q huffs through his nose and looks at the man standing in the middle of his office. It’s unfair, really, how he never seems to suffer from any ill effects from all the drinking Q sees him do. Even now, barely five hours after having escorted his sloshed Quartermaster safely home and setting out water and painkillers at the ready on his bedside table, Bond hardly looks affected by the early hour. 

But then, Q brightens considerably. “Vomiting all over your lap _was_ the highlight of my evening, though.” 

“I’m sure,” Bond says, and he sounds amused. He pauses and his eyes twinkle; it’s never a good sign. “You did quite thoroughly wreck my suit, darling. I fear it may be a lost cause, so I may require some form of… compensation from you.” 

Q blinks, eyes tracking Bond’s movements. “Really, 007?” 

Bond steps into his personal space, lips brushing against his ear, and Q shivers. “Oh yes. We shall revisit the topic once I return.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: just one shot  
> Word count: 200  
> Challenge: use exactly seven paragraphs


	3. Something of a Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q’s in the field and things get a little out of hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week’s challenge was, well, rather challenging. 👀 I knew from the start that I’d end up writing two versions for it, but then I ended up not liking either and had to write a third one as well. I might have written a fourth one too if I had had more time (since I’m not too pleased with this one either), but as I didn’t, well, it had to be this or nothing.

Resurrection being a hobby of James, Q has long since stopped holding his breath every time his lover pulls off one of his disappearing acts. He still fears for his life, yes, but he also trusts James to return to him. 

Especially now that he has practically moved in to Q’s flat. 

So it’s something of a surprise that this time, it is not James who disappears but Q. 

Usually Q wouldn’t be in the field, but sometimes, concessions must be made, and this is one of those times. A supposedly easy mission quickly turns into anything but, and Q has barely time to feel the gunshot that takes him down. 

Recovery is not the easiest or the quickest, and he’s told that on the way back to London his heart really did stop beating; waking up at Medical, surrounded by his nearest and dearest, he can only be happy it didn’t stick. 

”Rubbed off on you, have I?” James grins, relieved. 

Eve, sitting next him, snorts inelegantly. Q can see that she wants to say something, but mercifully she keeps quiet.

”Could be,” Q allows. ”Though I’d really rather not do this again, if you won’t terribly mind.”

”Too right you won’t,” says Eve. 

”I certainly won’t mind,” James says. ”For a while there…” he pauses, but Q can easily hear what was left unsaid. 

Out loud, Q says nothing, but he does squeeze the hand holding his. 

Neither of them speaks again, but their clasped hands say everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: resurrection  
> Word count: 250   
> Challenge: an acrostic format spelling out ‘resurrection’


	4. Something Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James asks Q an important question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had some troubles getting started with this drabble, and even more getting it edited, but I liked my idea so I kept on until it was finished. And apparently it was worth the effort. 👀

There is nothing particularly special about the framed poster on Q’s bedroom wall. If anything, it could even be mistaken for one of the beautiful yet generic Greek views one can find on postcards from many of the islands that have any tourism. James knows this for a fact as he remembers seeing a strikingly similar view both in Santorini and Crete; and he has even sent Q a postcard of such a view the last time he was in Greece for a mission. 

The card has found its spot on Q’s fridge door, held in place with a fridge magnet of a Greek cat illustration James brought him from the previous Greek mission. 

James remembers paying any mind to the poster only after his sixth or so visit to Q’s bedroom. Before, there had been other, more interesting things - like the paleness of Q’s throat and the enticing way he gasps when James touches the inside of his knee just so - to focus on. 

It's one of those nights when they’re cuddling under the duvet, nude and still slightly sticky with cooling sweat, with Q’s cheek resting against James’ chest and James’ fingers carding through Q’s hair, when James glances at the poster and hears Q sigh softly. 

”It’s a photo my mother took when she was in Santorini with my father,” Q explains quietly. ”It’s where she realised she loved him, and where they returned a year later on their honeymoon, and again every year for their anniversary until she died.” 

James looks at the poster again, takes in the cheery ambiance and the blue sky, and makes up his mind. ”Can I take you there?” he murmurs against Q’s tangle of silky curls. 

And when Q wordlessly nods his assent, James realises he’s been given something special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: a photo of a Greek view  
> Word count: 300


End file.
